as in unreadable
incapable of being read or deciphered
illegible signatures on the petition will be disregarded
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegible
Managers flagged signs as being worn and illegible.
—
Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 11 Mar. 2026
But a prelinguistic intuition also simmers, for example, in a set of illegible, calligraphic drawings that suggest something just preceding the nascence of writing.
—Brian Seibert, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
The bottles may have missing or illegible lot codes and expiration dates.
—Jenna Anderson, Health, 30 Jan. 2026
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegible
Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 11 Mar. 2026
But a prelinguistic intuition also simmers, for example, in a set of illegible, calligraphic drawings that suggest something just preceding the nascence of writing.
—Brian Seibert, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
The bottles may have missing or illegible lot codes and expiration dates.
—Jenna Anderson, Health, 30 Jan. 2026
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegible
Adjective
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Denilson Baniwa has argued that one of Indigenous art’s most effective instruments of resistance is disguise—the adoption of non-Indigenous forms to achieve legibility in white, institutional terms, while the actual logic resides elsewhere, unreadable to those the work isn’t intended for.—
María Carri,
Artforum,
16 Apr. 2026
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Yasmin Kara-Hanani and Henry Muck are out of their depth in the flashy offices of Tender, a start-up led by the smooth-talking, unreadable Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella).—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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District leaders make up the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s obscure but powerful governing body that largely controls selecting judges, party priorities, and spending.—
Adam Davis,
New York Daily News,
14 May 2026
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Joined by her septet and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Steven Reineke, Joy performed a medley of tunes — her own originals as well as standards and more obscure selections within the vocal jazz canon — to rapturous applause.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
Adjective
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In Islamabad, the almost indecipherable whisper of leaks has turned to crickets.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
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Diving into our nearly indecipherable monthly utility bills, most customers will find their electric delivery charges exceed their electric generation charges.—
Craig D. Rose,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Looking beyond the main structure captured by Webb, the galaxy’s spiral arms extend into a faint, wide ring of hydrogen gas stretching thousands of light-years.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
10 May 2026
-
Meucci started seeing bright lights and feeling faint.—
Chris Hoffman,
CBS News,
9 May 2026
Adjective
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Georgia relies on machines that count ballots by reading QR codes that are undecipherable to humans.—
Caleb Groves,
AJC.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The spirit and the symbolism were, at times, undecipherable.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Whether that includes home acquisition is unclear.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
11 May 2026
-
Home or family dynamics could also feel emotionally messy or unclear.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Illegible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegible. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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